Members of the LDPR faction in the State Duma, led by Leonid Slutsky, have submitted a draft law to the Russian government that aims to abolish social pensions for foreign nationals upon retirement.
RIA Novosti reports that the bill proposes to eliminate social pension payments for foreigners “taking into account appropriate supplements.” The draft law has been sent for review by the government.
The authors of the bill emphasize that "the Russian Federation is an attractive country for many foreigners, partly due to the opportunity to receive a Russian pension."
They also point out that the ratio of the average assigned pension to the average wage in Russia stands at around 28%, meaning pensions compensate for less than a third of wages, highlighting their very low levels across the country.
Under current legislation, foreigners are eligible for a social pension if they have lived in Russia for at least 15 years, hold a residence permit, and have reached the required age—70 for men and 65 for women.
LDPR argues that this initiative will help protect the pension system from unjustified obligations, reduce the budgetary burden, and restore trust in the principle of pensions as a result of participation in the country's life.
The LDPR is a Russian ultranationalist and right-wing populist political party in Russia. It succeeded the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSU) in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The party was led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky since its inception until his death in April 2022. Opposing both communism and capitalism of the 1990s, the party scored a major success in the 1993 Duma elections with almost 23% of the vote, giving it 64 seats of the 450 seats in the State Duma. In the 2021 elections, the party received 7.55% of the vote, giving it 21 seats.
Despite the party's name, it has been described as "neither liberal nor democratic nor a party". The LDPR was centered around Zhirinovsky, and is often described as populist, nationalist, or ultranationalist. It has been described as adhering to statism and authoritarianism, and has also been described as fascist, though this label has been disputed. The party, as part of the “systemic opposition”, is considered to be traditionally loyal to the Kremlin.
